1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to bulk packaging configured for both shipping and display, and more particularly, to a packaging assembly, and a related method, for economically and safely shipping and displaying a plurality of products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is important to both manufacturers and retailers of consumer products that such products be shipped and displayed in an efficient and economical manner. The cost of shipping products and displaying products is often calculated in the overall cost of the products, such that any savings in the overall cost is advantageous to the manufacturer and retailer and then ultimately passed on to the end consumer.
It is known to ship and display products in bulk. Typically, stacks of product containers, each containing a plurality of products, are shipped and displayed upon a pallet. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,305 to Green discloses a packaging assembly and a method of packaging a plurality of products, for economically and safely shipping and displaying a plurality of products. The packaging assembly includes a plurality of product containers, specifically display stands, contiguously arranged on a pallet, each display stand holding a plurality of products. The packaging assembly can be surrounded by panels of cardboard or other material on the sides and on the top and then wrapped in a suitable shrinkwrap material for shipping. Once the packaging assembly arrives at the retail location, the panels and shrinkwrap material are removed and the packaging assembly is ready for display and sale, without the need for unloading it from the pallet or removing the products from the display stands.
It is also known to provide side panels for a pallet in a packaging assembly. Two known reasons for side panels are to hide the pallet from view and thus increase the aesthetic appearance of the packaging assembly, and to lend structural support to a packaging assembly during shipping. By way of example, the following patents and published patent application disclose various types of side panels for a pallet in a packaging assembly: U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,137 to Govang et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,488 to Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,995 to Murray and U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0023319 to Honkawa et al.
One disadvantage of conventional side panels is that the side panels are an extra component of the packaging assembly and thus impose additional weight and cost to the packaging assembly during shipping of the packaging assemblies. Another disadvantage of conventional side panels is that once the packaging assemblies arrive at the retail location, the side panels generally serve no useful function other than to merely hide the pallet from view.
Accordingly, there has existed a definite need for an improved packaging assembly for both economical and safe shipping and display of a plurality of products, and for a related method of shipping and displaying a plurality of products that overcomes these disadvantages. The present invention satisfies these and other needs, and provides further related advantages.